Robert Chambers, the “preppie killer” of ’80s infamy, is headed back to prison for a long stretch.
This is as it should be.
Under a deal announced yesterday, Chambers will be sentenced to 19 years and 4 months after copping to drug charges that could’ve sent him away for life. He’ll also get six years for assault, to be served concurrently.
Now, nearly 19 1/2 years certainly sounds like justice. (And given his abysmal record the last time he was behind bars, we bet Chambers will be doing all of it.)
But it’s also true that 19 1/2 years is four years more than Chambers served for killing 18-year-old Jennifer Levin in Central Park back in 1986.
You remember that case: Chambers left the girl’s battered body under a tree – then, at trial, tried to blame her for the crime, saying she’d forced him to perform “rough” sex, during which he “accidentally” choked her to death.
He got 15 years for that, under a plea bargain that prosecutors – fearful of an acquittal – reached after the jury had deadlocked for nine days.
We understand that plea bargains are needed to keep the criminal-justice system from getting backlogged into virtual gridlock.
But 19-plus years for drugs and assault, versus 15 years for taking an innocent life?
It just doesn’t seem fair.